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Blogmas #5: DIY Pinterest Gifts Worth Giving

Saturday, December 05, 2015

photo credit goes to their owners, all original posts are linked below

Looking to give someone a handmade gift this Christmas? There's no shortage of ideas and inspiration thanks to the joys of Pinterest! Whether you're looking to keep down costs, or just want to give something a bit more unique and personal then DIYing gifts can be the way to go. However I think there are definitely a few things to bear in mind here in order to get it right, and to choose the right project. First of all I think the key to any present giving- whether it's shop bought or handmade- is to keep the person you're going to be giving to in mind. Is it something they can, or will ever use? If you know someone has certain food allergies for example, you wouldn't go baking them up a whole load of treats that they cant even have. Once you've found your project, the second thing to do is be really honest with yourself and ask 'am I realistically going to be able to do this?' Kiiiind of sounds a bit negative here but trust me this will save you a lot of hassle in the long run. I think most of us have done it, seen a beautifully presented project on Pinterest and thought 'hey I could do that!' Fast forward a few hours later and we're crying under a pile of fabric/ paper/ self raising flour due to total lack of ability. With all of that in mind I've rounded up five of my favourite Pinterest DIY gifts which are simple to do, and wont look like a naff old botch job or something that a five year old has made. Ideal if like me you have no discernible skills in baking, crafting or DIY projects in general!

With just a few inexpensive ingredients (most of which you'll probably already have in your kitchen) you can create these little gingerbread body scrub cubes. Perfect for smoothing and moisturising dry winter skin, you could pop them into a glass jar and tie festive themed bows and ribbons around the lid. Once you were finished with the silicone mould you could keep it for making Christmas shaped chocolates or ice cubes too! There are all sorts of different shaped moulds in hobby shops, but I think THIS from eBay would work well.

I think gifts like this are especially good, as you can really personalise them and customise them to what people like. You can pick up the individual bits and pieces from sweets to scented candles to fluffy socks relatively cheaply, but once they're all put together and displayed nicely you get the perfect little hamper. The creator of the 'Movie Night in a Tin' shown above also gives examples for a 'Winter Survival Kit', 'Snow Day Survival Kit' 'Spa in a Tin' and 'Christmas Baking Kit' which are all such cute and giftable ideas. Once you've found your container/ basket print off some chalkboard style labels and finish with a festive ribbon. I love the idea of adding a relevant gift voucher that fits with the theme too, if you wanted to spend a little more.

Such a simple yet effective idea, I know I'd like to receive this! It's just a matter of dissolving candy canes in vodka and pouring into your chosen jar; it would be great in Christmas evening cocktails or you could add a shot to hot chocolate on a cold winter evening. You can buy glass jars with the clip top really cheaply- this set of 500ml ones would be ideal especially if you were making it for multiple people. Once you're done you could design and print a custom label to go on the front, or just attach a tag and a mini candy cane like they've done above.

This super simple DIY would make a great gift for any home cook. There are tonnes of flavour ideas online from herbs to spices and different seasoning combinations, so you could get as creative as you like. Displayed in matching jars with cute labels it makes for a coherent gift idea, and is something a bit different too. These little lidded spice jars would work, you'd just need to display in a box with some pretty shredded paper.

Finally, you can't go wrong with something like this in my opinion. More personal than a regular box of chocolates as you get the handmade quality, but its chocolate so lets face it everyone is going to like it. You can customise it with whatever you like, and also make it as big or small as you'd like. I think smaller ones would be ideal for token style presents for people you have a smaller budget for, or a large one would make a great gift to a family.